welcome back to "newsline," i'm kanako sachno. two pioneers of stem cell research have won the nobel prize in physiology of medicine. japan's shinya yamanaka shares the honor with britain's john b. gurdon. both discovered specialized cells that make up the body. >> the nobel assembly has today decided to award the nobel prize

in physiology or medicine 2012 jointly to john b. gurdon and shinya yamanaka. >> the nobel assembly in stockholm, sweden, made the announcement monday. yamanaka is 50 years old. he's a professor at kyoto university. he established the method to produce a new type of cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, or isp. they're capable of becoming specialized cells which can be used to create tissue for neurons and heart muscle. john b. gurdon was the first one to discover that it might contain all the information found in an organism in 1962. 40 years later, yamanaka confirmed and expanded on gurdon's thesis. professor yamanaka spoke about his nobel prize win at kyoto university.

>> translator: i am very happy about receiving this prize. but at the same time, i feel a great sense of responsibility. ips is a new technology, and it has a lot of potential in the field of medicine and the development of new drugs. i want to continue this research. now that i have received this honor, i would like to -- or i feel i must contribute to society as soon as possible. >> professor yamanaka also said he's very honored to receive this coveted prize alongside john b. gurdon.

space exploration has entered the commercial era. a ship built by a u.s. company has blasted off with supplies for astronauts in orbit. the craft is taking over from the space shuttles and taking private enterprise where it's never gone before. nhk world's sarah milkovich has the story. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: engineers at the u.s. firm spacex confirmed the unmanned dragon capsule. they launched it from cape canaveral air force station in florida. the rocket separated on schedule ten minutes after liftoff. dragon is cruising towards the space station. it's due to dock in three days 400 kilometers above the earth. it's carrying nearly a ton of food and experimental equipment. spacex is the first private company to handle a supply

mission. its contract with the u.s. agency nasa is worth $1.6 billion. the dragon capsule is now heading toward the international space station, but nasa is no longer in space. countries like china and india are racing to catch up. with commercial partners like spacex, nasa is now free to focus on its new mission, racing to mars. >> what i call a historical event in the annals of space flight. the spacex launch tonight marks the official start of commercial resupply missions by american companies operating out u.s. spaceports like the one right here in florida. >> reporter: bolden said nasa officials need to spend their limited funds carefully. he said americans need to nurture the next generation to keep their leadership and development of space. sara zelkovic, nhk world, florida.

members of the u.s. congressional panel want to keep two chinese telecom companies out of the american market for security reasons. the house of representatives intelligence committee is warning government agencies not to use products made by china's two top technology firms. committee members have been investigating them for almost a year. they say the firms may be involved in espionage activities for the chinese government and military. they are major global suppliers of mobile devices. nhk obtained a copy of the panel's report. the document criticizes the companies for being unwilling to cooperate with the inquiry. it says the firms fail to provide sufficient information on their relationship with the chinese government. the report concludes members of the intelligence committee cannot overcome the concerns they have regarding the firms' involvement with chinese

intelligence. it warns the u.s. government not to use their products. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson hong lei reacted by saying china's technology firms are complying with the rules that govern global markets. and he says the u.s. is benefitting from various chinese products. hong called on u.s. leaders to abandon prejudice and avoid moves that would hinder the economic relationship between the two nations. hugo chavez has been in control of venezuela since 1999. the majority of the country's voters have shown they want him to stay on as president until 2020. they've handed him his fourth term, helping him beat his main challenger, henrique capriles, in a close election. officials announced the results with 90% of ballots counted. they said chavez had more than 54% of the vote and capriles

nearly 45%. chavez has spent his 14 years in office transforming venezuela into what he calls a socialist state. he's used revenue from the country's vast oil reserves to build housing for people on low incomes and offer free medical care. analysts expect chavez to increase state control of businesses. his critics accuse him of using government money to pay for projects to win local support. they also say he has a high-handled political style. many venezuelans have been frustrated with high inflation and worried about chavez' health. the president has been battling cancer. now here's your three-day world weather forecast. ♪

here's our top story again. two pioneers of stem cell research have won the nobel prize in nizology or medicine. japan's shinya yamanaka shares the honor with britain's john b.

gurdon. both discovered mature specialized cells can eventually develop into all of the tissues ma make up the body. >> the nobel assembly institute has today decided to award the nobel prize in physiology or medicine 2012 jointly to john b. gurdon and shinya yamanaka. >> the nobel assembly in stockholm, sweden, made the announcement monday. yamanaka is 50 years old. he's a professor at kyoto university. he established the method to produce a new type of cells called induced pluripotent cells or ips cells. they're capable of becoming specialized cells which can be used to develop neurons or heart muscle. john b. gurdon was the first to hypothesize the genome might contain all the information that could develop into a cell type turnaround in an organism in

1962. 40 years later, yamanaka confirmed and expanded on gurdon's thesis. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." we'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. i'm kanako sachno. thanks for watching.